A Shift Has Been Made
by Karfinwen
Summary: Gibbs comes down to Abby's lab for results, and realizes that something has shifted between them. Perhaps the time has come to change what they have?


Abby's keyboard glowed a strange otherworldly blue as she worked, tapping her foot to the heavy beat of the metal blasting from her inner sanctum and tracking the code racing down her screen simultaneously. Just as she went to execute the final line of the code needed to hack into the federal database-of-the-week for Gibbs' case, her mass spectrometer beeped to announce its success. Emitting a short squeal of delight, Abby tugged the paper free from the bottom of the machine, and planted a big kiss via her hand atop the machine. "That's my baby!" she exclaimed delightedly, and rolled backwards around the table to finish her hack job.

Just as she twisted her body to whirl towards the keyboard, however, two strong hands clasped her shoulders and executed the turn for her. Although Abby had tensed slightly when she'd felt a presence behind her, the warmth seeping through her silken purple tank top and fishnet sleeves into her skin made her relax under the familiar touch. She squirmed just a bit, mostly for show, and cried, "Gibbs! What have I said about sneaking up on me like that?" The jumbo-sized Caf!Pow thrust into her greedy hands showed just how completely unfazed the man behind her was by her admonishment. Not minding a single bit, Abby didn't hesitate on the red straw, delighting in the rush of caffeine through her veins. If she tucked her neck down to avoid escaping Gibbs' hands on her shoulders, her friend didn't notice, or at least, didn't comment. Instead, he squeezed lightly and murmured, "What have you got for me, Abbs?"

"Uno momento, por favore, mi senor! Patience is a virtue, you know," she chastised with a boldness that would have gotten any other member of his team a death glare and probably a headslap to go with it. Instead, Gibbs just sighed, knowing that any further protest would induce Abby's "Science can't be rushed like that, Gibbs" lecture, which he'd heard so many times he could probably recite it while sleeping. It often amazed the special agent just how much longer his rope had become in the four years Abby had occupied the NCIS Trace Evidence lab. 'Shame that she couldn't have come in time to salvage my second, third, and fourth marriages,' Gibbs thought idly for a moment. As he watched Abby lean against him without a care in the world as she worked, however, Gibbs couldn't quite regret the path he'd taken. After all, he had his girl, enough money to keep her in Caf!Pow until she got sick of him, and a home with a door with a solid deadbolt that would keep all the crazies away from her until he could put them behind bars. There really wasn't much else he could ask for in that department.

Tapping rapidly to complete her hack, Abby reclined against her seat rest nonchalantly, ignoring the shiver that raced through her when her back made contact with Gibbs' solid chest. Remaining as still as possible, Abby prayed that Gibbs wouldn't notice that he had her black pigtails pressing into his sternum and move tactfully away. The code on the screen ran down once more, and when it revealed a database that wasn't exactly public knowledge, Abby entered a few more commands, finally bringing up the file she sought.

"So the bullet you guys found at the crime scene wasn't just any old slug, Gibbs." She opened another program, explaining excitedly as she typed, "It's old. Really, _really_ old. Like, Peter the Great Goes to Paris Old. Louis the XVI Marries Marie Antoinette Old. Maybe even Pocahontas meets John-"

Gibbs' hands clamped down on her shoulders like a vise. "_Abbs_!"

"Right. It's from around the mid-17th century, and was used primarily in Europe's Thirty Years War. The good news is, there's a very limited number of these bullets in the world, and an even smaller number of places to get them. Here's the list of known European military memorabilia collectors whose collections include bullets."

Gibbs took the print-out she thrusts at him, and turns to leave, but she caught him neatly by the elbow and dragging him back to her computer. Damned if she's going to spend an hour hacking into a government server with no recognition of her efforts. "Wait! I'm just getting to the best part, Gibbs." Settling her back in her chair and assuming his previous spot behind her, he eyed the screen with real interest, awaiting whatever she's got for him.

"Not all of the bullets belong to _collectors_, Gibbs. Some of them wound up in history museums, some of them in government files, and some of them even forgotten in basements or attics. I hacked into Russia, France, Germany, and Austria's government servers to check them out. None of them have reported any of the bullets they have in their 17th-century archives missing in the past six months. I thought we'd struck out…untiiiiil..." Abby trailed off, hoping to augment the suspense of the moment. Gibbs just stared at her intently and motioned with his hand for her to continue, _pronto_. "Fine, Gibbs. I was stuck until the gun went through processing. Once the chemicals on it were analyzed by Major Mass Spec, I was able to determine that it spent at least five years in north-central Pennsylvania."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that, Abby?"

"There's a certain kind of pesticide that has been used to combat a certain kind of beetle in that region for the past twelve years. Well, that region, and Botswana and Auckland, New Zealand, but I really don't think our killer's from either one of those countries. Especially since neither Botswana nor Auckland are home to a descendant of an Austrian veteran of the Thirty Years War. Coudersport, Pennsylvania, on the other hand…" she trailed off for dramatic effect, bringing up the drivers license as her big finale, "is home to one Daniel Bassett."

Gibbs moved closer to the plasma screen, fully engaged in what she'd pulled up, and Abby grinned, glad as always to have his undivided attention. She clicked the Print Page button and gathered all of the necessary information in a stack beside her. "Charged with aggravated assault in '99, breaking and entering in '02, '04, and '05, and various domestic disturbances over the past fifteen years. Either he and his wife have the same taste in extracurricular activities as I do, or he's got a problem reining in his temper. Here's his address."

Forcing back the image of Abby being shoved around her bed by a faceless man with a shudder, Gibbs accepted the small packet of papers, and vowed to double check that Mikel Mawher was indeed still behind bars. In the meantime, there was a killer to catch, or rather, one to collect on Abby's behalf. Gibbs stared hard at Bassett's face and rap sheet, still slightly stunned that Abby had been able to get all that from half a shell casing and a few shards of plastic off the end of the missing gun. "Remind me never to piss you off, Abbs," shaking his head in both bemusement and a hint of pride.

Abby flushed at his compliment of her skills, and poked his shoulder. "I could probably prove that you had slept with McGee if I set my mind to it." Her giggles at that mental image halted abruptly at the look on his face, and she rushed to add, "Don't worry, Gibbs, I only use my powers for good, Bossman, and you'll never be a target of my babies here. Besides, the thought of you and McGee…ugh, quick, get it out of my head!"

Gibbs regarded his lab rat fondly as her eyes lit with amusement. He should really get out of here, _now_, before he did anything stupid, but it seemed that at the moment, with the sunlight streaming through her half-moon windows onto her hair, resistance was quite futile. Advancing on her suddenly, he grasped her arms and kissed one pale cheek, and then the other. His nose finally came to rest close to her ear, and he subtly inhaled her scent. "That's great work, Abbs. We'll get us back by dinnertime. Up for some Chinese and boat-building afterwards?"

Abby fought to keep her focus as his lips caressed her face, and fought even harder when he kept his face against hers, his toughened skin grazing her delicate flesh while his nose nudged her gently. Her delight at the invitation, combined with his closeness, was enough to send a shiver through her. Instead of succumbing to her hormones, Abby plopped herself back into her chair and rolled slightly backwards. It was at that point that she realized that it was well past noon, and dinnertime wasn't possibly going to be spent on Gibbs' lumpy spare sofa in the basement, devouring sesame chicken and fried rice. Her eyebrows shot up in disbelief at his assertion. "Optimistic much, Gibbs? That trip is four hours each way, easy!"

Gibbs merely looked at her evenly and said, "The local LEOs can make the collar and ship him to the state line. Ziva will start us off to meet them, and I'll take over if she's not hacking it. I bet we can get there and back in 5 hours, Abbs."

Abby chuckled huskily, "That's a bet I'm not willing to take, if only to discourage you crazies from killing yourselves on the 83." Her brow furrowed in confusion at the time table. But that would put you back here at about six, even if you do 'hack it', and you always stick around for the poking, prodding, bricking, and, well, *everything*!"

Gibbs knew she was right, that he always had to be there from beginning to end, to maintain control of the process. It had been a while since he and Abby had gotten some quality time with the boat, though, and for some reason, watching her perched on his dusty worktable as she worked her way through his wontons sounded far more appealing than obsessing over the latest culprit. "Abbs, the evidence is solid. I'm sure DiNozzo can handle this one without tripping all over himself. And if not, Ziva's more than willing to slap both him _and_ Bassett into the condition she needs."

Abby giggled at the mental image of Ziva doing exactly that, and Gibbs' heart filled, as it always did when he'd pleased her somehow. They'd done this dozens of times over the years - dinner and carpentry in his basement - but something in the air, or maybe in her eyes, or maybe in his own mind, which was wound less tightly than it had ever been since Shannon and Kelly, made this time seem different.

For her part, Abby was slightly stunned that Gibbs was actually talking about handing over the investigation to DiNozzo before the t's were crossed and the i's were dotted - long before, even. Surely he wasn't craving Chinese _that_ desperately? And his boat certainly wasn't going anywhere. Come to think of it, in the metro D.C. area, both were available pretty much 24/7 to him. She didn't dare imagine that her part in this equation of Chinese-and-boat-building really made any sort of difference in his considerations...

Lost in her musings, she gasped slightly as Gibbs approached her in his calm, steady manner until he was close enough to look directly down at her. Abby was tall, even taller with her chunky black boots, and she'd always loved the fact that Gibbs was taller than her even in her most outrageous heels. It made her feel safe, under his guard somehow, and she instinctively relaxed when most would have flinched, at his proximity.

"Haven't gotten some good time in with my girl for a while, Abbs," he rumbled, "Gotta make sure she doesn't run me out of her lab one of these days."

Abby laughed out loud at the suggestion, "Yeah Gibbs, like _that_ would ever happen!"

Gibbs shook his head in bemusement; she'd put up with him for so long, and most days he truly didn't understand why. "Then we're on for tonight?" he repeated, needing to confirm that she'd be here after they'd gotten the guy, that she'd be safe down here, waiting for him after the fight.

"Sure, Gibbs. I'll come upstairs when you guys get back," Abby replied. Swiftly, Gibbs pecked her cheek one last time, swiping her thumb across the other one to brand her with his "my girl" sign. He was on the elevator before she could even react to the possessive gesture, and she exhaled shakily and sat down in her tall chair once more, feeling the adrenaline at the encounter surge through her veins..

"Well, that certainly chased all thoughts of…well, anything, really…from my head. Four kisses in one visit, Gibbs? What on earth..." Abby muttered to herself. _Still at work, Abby, keep it together_. Cranking up her Android Lust with a wave of her remote, she doggedly moved on to the next case that needed attention. Gibbs and his crew were on their way to Pennsylvania. Maybe if Ziva drove, they'd be back before dark. In the meantime, she had the memory of sawdust and Old Spice surrounding her to keep her company, and she'd be damned if she wasn't finished in time to feel his hand at her back as they walked to his Challenger for that Chinese and boat-building.


End file.
